THE left-wing candidate in Colombia’s recent presidential election has vowed to launch a campaign of civil disobedience if the conservative lawyer who defeated him fails to renounce his US citizenship.

In a statement published on Tuesday, Senator Ivan Cepeda argued that conflicts of interest could arise if president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella remains a citizen of the United States.

Mr Cepeda made two other demands.

He said that Mr de la Espriella should clarify whether he is a US “agent” because, as a criminal defence lawyer, he had defended a former paramilitary leader who was an informant for the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

Mr Cepeda also said that the president-elect should desist from any efforts to extradite to the US outgoing President Gustavo Petro, who federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have said they are investigating for potential ties to drug traffickers.

“If these conditions of legality are not met, as the leader of the opposition, I will embark on the path of peaceful civil disobedience that implies not recognising the authority of someone who will not defend our national sovereignty,” the left-wing senator said.

Mr de la Espriella, who stood on a tough-on-crime platform and was endorsed by US President Donald Trump, won a run-off on June 21, defeating Mr Cepeda by 250,000 votes.

The latter acknowledged the results three days later, after Colombian authorities had validated an election-day quick vote count showing that Mr de la Espriella had obtained 49.6 per cent of the votes to 48.7 per cent for Mr Cepeda.

Mr de la Espriella did not immediately respond to Mr Cepeda’s statement.

The 47-year-old lawyer, who is due to be sworn in as president on August 7, was born in Bogota.

He obtained US citizenship as an adult after living for several years in Florida, where he ran a law firm that represented high-profile clients, including former paramilitary leaders accused of human rights abuses and businessmen charged with money laundering.

Professor Manuel Camilo Gonzalez, a political scientist at Bogota’s Javeriana University, said that Mr Cepeda’s call could spark street protests or justify efforts to defeat Mr de la Espriella’s agenda in Colombia’s Congress.

Mr Cepeda’s party, the Historic Pact, has the most senators but is short of the majority required to block legislation on its own.